Guest Blog - The Season's of a Teacher's First Year

For some time now, I had been hoping that a member of the faculty may have a thought or two that they might want to share with the community - allowing me to share this space with them. Today, I am pleased to share “The Head’s Desk” with the Director of the Outdoor Program, Judith Marklin, who has just completed her first year of teaching at The Beech Hill School. The following are Ms. Marklin’s thoughts:

The Seasons of a Teacher’s First Year

Judith Marklin

It is crazy to believe that this school year is already over! It felt like just yesterday I was introducing the Field Notebooks to the students in Outdoors - which was met with many groans. I knew that this would be a challenging addition to the curriculum, since it was so different from how things were done before. It was rocky at first, but I am so proud of our students for being open-minded and keeping a (mostly!) good attitude. Two weeks ago we spent the last Outdoors period sitting with our triangles and writing a poem to them or about them. I was blown away with what was created and wanted to share three poems with you here. I am mostly struck by the themes of decay, death, and life - in other words, the changing seasons. 

This past Friday was my first time witnessing a Closing Ceremony at The Beech Hill School. And, similarly to the Field Notebooks, I did not know quite what to expect but was pleasantly surprised. It was a poignant amalgamation of celebration, reminiscing, and closure. The weather seemed to reflect the emotions of the day - rain and sunshine - as I both laughed and cried. It was, in a word, bittersweet. Which is often how I feel as summer becomes fall and fall becomes winter, which eventually becomes spring. I find myself not quite ready to let go of the barefoot days of August while simultaneously yearning for a crispness to the air. Yet nature keeps her rhythm, knowing that change is hard, but necessary - and ultimately, good. It is this cycle that helps us stretch and grow. It teaches us how to say goodbye sincerely, how to give gratitude fully, and how to welcome change graciously.

May the (now former!) 8th graders carry with them the lessons from their triangles and experience personally the new life and adventures that comes after the changing of a season.

Founders' Day

By June of 2021, our students had been through quite a bit.  They had to experience a year that forced them to stay away from one another, as the pandemic raged, and everyone struggled to understand how to live safely.  So, I was trying to find a way that those students who had been pushed apart for safety’s sake could congregate together before the school year drew to a close.

At the same time, I had always thought that there should be a day built into The Beech Hill School calendar that was dedicated to honoring the founding of the school.  At first, I considered aligning this day of celebration with the individual that founded the school, Emily Ricard.  I considered making her birthday a school celebration, but this never felt quite right.  As I considered a number of different options, I discovered that the Board of Directors met for the first time on June 13, 2011.

The confluence of the tenth anniversary of the first Board meeting and the need for the students to celebrate in 2021 created the perfect reason to create Founders’ Day – a day to celebrate the founding of The Beech Hill School.  That year, we had food trucks, commemorative t-shirts, and a whole lot of fun.  Even though we still had to wear masks, even outside, this event truly helped to bring the community together.

In the ensuing years, we continued to celebrate Founders’ Day on the Friday before the  Closing Exercises.  While that first year it was clear that our students really needed a chance to celebrate together, the meaning and purpose of Founders’ Day was unclear. This year, however, I was pleased to share with the Community, with clarity, the purpose of Founders’ Day.

First, Founders’ Day is about commemoration.  Every year, we will remember and honor the courage and audacity of our founders to start from scratch, The Beech Hill School.  Second, Founders’ Day is about inspiration.  It is my belief that our students will find inspiration in knowing the founding story of their school.  Third, Founders’ Day is about recognition.  On Founders’ Day, we recognize those 8th grade students that have earned the honor to speak at Closing Exercises.  In the future, I hope to enlarge this aspect of Founders’ Day by recognizing alumni and supporters of the School that have gone above and beyond.  Finally, Founders’ Day is about celebration.  The day should always be a chance for all members of the community – past and present – to spend time enjoying their connection to The Beech Hill School.

Next year, we will be celebrating our 5th Founders’ Day.  Mark your calendars and join us as we commemorate, inspire, recognize and celebrate at BHS!

Champions

When I started teaching in the fall of 1995, I had minimal formal training.  Like The Beech Hill School, many independent schools do not require that their teachers have certification, formal training, or experience.  One reason for this, is that teachers at independent schools are required to do much more than teach a subject in a classroom.  While high quality teaching is non-negotiable, one thing that outstanding independent school educators have in common is that they are all champions.

By champion, I don’t mean that they necessarily won some competition.  They don’t have a  special belt and they have not conquered all challengers.  Rather, they are, as Merriam-Webster would say, “a militant advocate.” That is, great teachers are champions of various things, above and beyond the work that they do in their classroom.  They share freely their passions with their school community, and that is something that can’t be trained or certified.

On Friday afternoon, Mr. Arruda – an ardent champion of the arts, held a multi-hour drama rehearsal, followed by a movie night – that he created and has become a monthly expectation.  At the same time, Ms. Markland, a champion of the outdoors, was lugging heavy stumps from her car to the edge of the woods, as she was getting ready to create an outdoor classroom setting in “the forest.” I could go on for each of the teachers at BHS, as they are all champions of passions beyond the discipline that they were hired to teach.  That passion is infectious and the students at BHS are lucky to be surrounded and inspired by such a diverse array of individuals willing to freely share their passions.

Synergy

When I first started teaching, I was often intimidated by those in education that would use technical language that is rarely used in everyday teaching but is used in research and highly intellectual conversations about education.  Since I was not a classically trained educator, I worked very hard to become fluent in this “edu-speak.”  As my career progressed and I became an administrator, it became fashionable to read business books and to use popular business catchphrases.  Once again, I hit the books, reading Jim Collins, and others so that I could utilize the lingo of business.  In general, I found it easier to use plain language, but there were certain times when “edu-speak” or business lingo really is best.

Synergy was hot in the business world in the early 2000s and I am sure that it is still being used in and around cubicles throughout the world.  To be honest, I am sure that I have used this word many times, but this week, I experienced a synergistic collaboration that would make a case study worthy of business school.

This spring, our elective program is quite robust.  The gardening elective has been hard at work, raising plants from seed, with a grow operation in the Creative Space that would make the Jolly Green Giant proud.  Likewise, our building elective has been working hard to complete the shed that they have been building.  This week, the gardening group was trying to erect raised beds in the garden.  The students from the building elective immediately brought their technical knowledge and experience to the situation and these two electives epitomized a synergistic relationship, as they created two very well-built raised beds. 

At the end of the week, the gardeners went back to their gardening and the builders went back to their shed.  For a few days, however, the synergies created in the elective program maximized and optimized value and output.

A Lesson Learned?

In just a few weeks, my son will be graduating from high school and heading off to college.  My son, Nate, has been very fortunate to have had an exceptional high school experience at the Groton School, a boarding school in Groton, Massachusetts.  Earlier this week he shared with me the news that he had volunteered to be a senior class gift volunteer.  I have no shortage of reasons to be proud of my son, however, I was especially proud to hear this.

Nate spent the first part of his life living on a boarding school campus and while we do not “live” at the Beech Hill School, my children spent significant time on campus, waiting for their father to finish up “just one more thing.”  As a leader in schools, my children likely learned a great deal about what it takes to make a school run well.  I have no doubt, that Nate – and his sister, have heard me speak ad nauseum about the importance of philanthropy in the world of independent schools.

I wish Nate luck as he seeks to get 100% participation in giving from his classmates, but I am certain that there will be those that might give him a hard time about why they should give.  I have no doubt that all the latent messaging about supporting his school will come to him naturally.

Here at BHS, we too will be making efforts to close out the year by asking our supporters to consider a gift to the school.  In a few weeks, I will have to compare notes with Nate to see which of us had greater success in fundraising for their school!